Obama to take corporate cash for inauguration

In some ways, Obama is returning to tradition. Previous presidents accepted large corporate contributions for their inaugurations. George W. Bush, for example, took a slew of $250,000 checks from companies that included Bank of America, Pfizer and Exxon Mobil.

Good government group Public Citizen has already written to him and asked him to continue banning corporate contributions.

“When the American people watch you take the oath of office, they should not wonder if you are also obligated to corporate donors,” President Robert Weissman wrote in a letter last month. “I am writing to urge you to exercise common sense and conduct a corporate-free, commercial-free inauguration.”

In 2008, Obama’s inaugural committee said rejecting corporate donations was part of his “commitment to change business as usual in Washington.”

The committee announced it would voluntarily abide by “an unprecedented set of limitations on fundraising as part of President-elect Obama’s pledge to put the country on a new path. Unlike previous inaugural committees, the PIC will not accept contributions from corporations, political action committees, current federally-registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens and registered foreign agents. The PIC will not accept individual contributions in excess of $50,000.”

The sources close to the planning of the second inaugural pointed out that the inauguration is a civic event, much like the Cherry Blossom Festival, which accepts corporate sponsorships, and civic institutions like the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the American Red Cross, which also take company donations.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated the legal limit for inauguration donations.